Dry January

earwighoney

tone1 said:

Things I've found
1. I've lost a few pounds (4)
2. Comedy shows aren't that funny
3. I like earl grey tea
4. No massive increase in energy yet
5. No heart palpitations (had them a bit last time)
6. I have felt weird at times
7. I'm with @Lodious on all of his points..

Ditto to most of the above! 

Heartfeltdawn

I haven't had any alcohol since September. Next month I'm organising Yermafuggingbeshtpal February for people just like me who haven't been wrecked in ages  

Tone71

Still dry, haven't missed it really, the big test will be next weekend as Sunday is the last day of the month so.......finish early or wait until 5th/6th Feb as I don`t drink during the week.

Well done to all who have lasted.

eSully

Tone71;945838" said:

Still dry, haven't missed it really, the big test will be next weekend as Sunday is the last day of the month so.......finish early or wait until 5th/6th Feb as I don`t drink during the week.

Well done to all who have lasted.

@tone1 pretty much nailed it with his list. Been a little disappointed there hasn't been some revelatory improvement somehow. Definitely lost weight. That's the big positive I guess. And saved money

I am seriously tempted to call time on it on the 29th. That's 4 weeks and weekends. Is that cheating

bluechargeboy

eSully said:

Tone71;945838" said:

Still dry, haven't missed it really, the big test will be next weekend as Sunday is the last day of the month so.......finish early or wait until 5th/6th Feb as I don`t drink during the week.

Well done to all who have lasted.

@tone1 pretty much nailed it with his list. Been a little disappointed there hasn't been some revelatory improvement somehow. Definitely lost weight. That's the big positive I guess. And saved money

I am seriously tempted to call time on it on the 29th. That's 4 weeks and weekends. Is that cheating

Dry January with a damp patch at the end.

eSully

bluechargeboy;945923" said:

eSully said:

Tone71;945838" said:Still dry, haven't missed it really, the big test will be next weekend as Sunday is the last day of the month so.......finish early or wait until 5th/6th Feb as I don`t drink during the week.



Well done to all who have lasted.

@tone1 pretty much nailed it with his list. Been a little disappointed there hasn't been some revelatory improvement somehow. Definitely lost weight. That's the big positive I guess. And saved money



I am seriously tempted to call time on it on the 29th. That's 4 weeks and weekends. Is that cheating














Dry January with a damp patch at the end.

Damp patch? It's more like to be a monsoon that lasts most of February

bluechargeboy

ICBM

I'm not going to cheat, at least partly because I didn't start until the 3rd, but also because there is a pub quiz I usually go to on the 1st .

It will only be a half pint because I will be driving, but that 'only a half' will be appreciated more than usual...

Budgie

So after everyone has got to the end of January without a drink will February onwards see normal service resumed? I've decided to only drink at weekends, which is something I think I can maintain. I was really looking forward to this Friday but after several gins, I wasn't really feeling it and still woke up on Saturday feeling hazy and meh. I had a whisky on Saturday and again, couldn't really be bothered. I reckon I can stick with this plan indefinitely. I hate the thought of totally depriving myself of something and it really doesn't work for me at all.

richardhomer

Budgie;947792" said:

I was really looking forward to this Friday but after several gins, I wasn't really feeling it and still woke up on Saturday feeling hazy and meh. I had a whisky on Saturday and again, couldn't really be bothered.

It sounds like you've got quite a bit of work needed to get 'properly' back into it.

Good luck with it.

Lodious

I'm aiming to stop drinking during the week, so the target date for resuming booze for me is the 5-Feb-2016 :-(. I still can't work out if I'm finding it hard or not. I know I don't want to go back to how things were.

One thing I have noticed is how much of my time in the evenings was spent rushing to get stuff done before I could have a drink. If I'd go out for a bike ride I'd hang the bike up, get a shower and have a drink. Since giving up, I'll come back, clean the bike, make any adjustments of things I'd noticed during the ride, put the lights on charge for the next ride.

Musically, I've starting getting on better with Cubase. I've got stuff working properly instead of just grabbing a beer and playing the same old stuff. I now totally understand the Focusrite Saffire Mix Control app, which has been a headwrecker for years.

I had a couple of Czech low alcohol beers last night...they were OK. Not as good as real beer, but drinkable. Last year I was drinking 4 pints and 3/4 of a bottle of wine most Sundays and similar on Fri/Sat night. Mondays are work were horrible.

I feel like I have made some progress in re-balancing booze. It was only last year when I ended up sleeping on the kitchen floor covered in puke and unable to stand up, which is just not cool for someone in their mid 40's with three kids.

Anyways....good luck to everybody.

Snap

I've knocked it on the head during the week. If I feel like it, I have a beer or two on Wednesday night though. Might go down the pub and have a couple of pints, or drive out to a country pub and have a half, or one. That does for me.

Also find I drink less at the weekend. About half as much.

Its easy to slip into habitual drinking, just because you think its the best way to relax. A good brew does the trick just as well most of the time IMO


Also, I sleep so much better if I've not been drinking.

tone1

I haven't been drunk for over a decade but find myself wondering whether it's worth putting the cork back in a 9/10th finished bottle of red on a Friday night.
I'm mid forties too with a couple of kids and again @Lodious makes some very similar points that I can relate to (apart from the kitchen floor incident)
I'm toying with extending the dry period as I think the hard work of knocking it on the head has been done..at worst I'll be alcohol free midweek if I do go back but it's so easy to find yourself driving via a Tesco store on the way home

BigBearKris

My Dry January ended this weekend with a bottle of nice red and some whiskey on Sunday. I'm not feeling too great after that - had massive amount of food over the weekend too.
To be honest - I've found it pretty easy not to drink those 4 weeks and apart from first few days when I was tempted by all nice spirits on January sale - I did fine. I'm planning not to drink for another few weeks, maybe even months now.

Good luck to all

bluechargeboy

How are we getting on then, my fizzy water bretheren? Got a gig tonight in Wrexham, land of the pissheads! But I shall prevail. No doubt.

Tone71

One thing I have noticed is how I associate most things with having a beer, as said it is like, get outside stuff done so no need to drive and its............. beer time, finish work on Friday, week over......... beer time, play a round of golf............ 19th hole beer time, watch the clock on a weekend until midday.........you guessed it.

I like the fact I can drive all the time in January, jump on the bike, visit people etc in the evening, sleeping better, loosing weight, not snoring, not having that selfish "Im drinking" mentality.

Having said all that I have just popped a couple in the fridge "just in case"!!

ICBM

I'll get there - just. I have been missing it more in the last week. Not helped by my wife getting a work promotion yesterday which requires some sort of recognition… but we ate the last of the Christmas chocolates instead .

Although I have thought about having a small celebratory drink at a minute past midnight on Sunday since it will technically be February 1st by then. Not sure if that's cheating or not!

Lodious

ICBM said:

I'll get there - just. I have been missing it more in the last week. Not helped by my wife getting a work promotion yesterday which requires some sort of recognition… but we ate the last of the Christmas chocolates instead .

Although I have thought about having a small celebratory drink at a minute past midnight on Sunday since it will technically be February 1st by then. Not sure if that's cheating or not!

We are now part of the Global Village ICBM....show some solidarity with our fellow Fijians and start drinking 12 hours early ;-)

tone1

Yep..I think I'm gonna make it.
I must confess to being a bit concerned I'm going to slip back into old habits..i'll start Feb perhaps only having glass of vino at the weekends and then before you know it, you find yourself watching Question time on a Thursday with a 1/2 finished bottle of red shouting at the TV.
So not sure whether to stay on the wagon or not yet...it's nice to know so many people have similar concerns...

eSully

I'm going to make it too. Seems an awful shame to go this far and not make it to the 1st of February. In fact I think I'll just hold off until I really feel like a beer rather than put a day on opening one. Seems less of a big deal now. Although I do like @icbm's idea, maybe one in the fridge just in case

Went for pub grub earlier in the week and the smell of beer truly turned my stomach. Not something I used to notice. I think it may well affect my drinking for a while. If dry January was an experiment I think starting drinking will be just as much of one. Not really sure what to expect. Like @tone1, little worried I'll slip back into it very easily but then again I'm not feeling any massive urge to drink.